Kaburagi Hatoko
Kaburagi Hatoko (鏑木 鳩子 Kaburagi Hatoko) is one of the Cures and the quaternary main character of Olympus Pretty Cure. A second-year student and vice-president of Seibara Middle School's newspaper club. A very subservient girl despite her meticulous journalism. She goes by the alias Masukomi-ko '(マスコミコ ''Masukomi-ko) when writing for the paper, though she later uses 'Seraphina '(セラフィーナ Serafina). Her alter ego is '''Cure Mercury (キュアマーキュリー Kyua Mākyurī). Appearance Hatoko initially has an archetypal "Masuko" appearance, with short brown hair, plain brown eyes and ovular thin rimmed glasses. However, she grows her hair out, ties thin bows on either side and starts wearing contact lenses later on; but she will wear glasses when reading however. She is also the tallest of the four Cures. She has the most varied wardrobe of any of the Cures, with many of her clothes being articles that Emily threw away. Earlier on, her primary casual outfit consists of a white dress shirt, red sweater vest, a brown skirt and black pantyhose. She wears brown loafers, a black beret and has a charm bracelet on her left wrist. She wears her uniform the same way Akira does, but leaves her blazer opened and wears a brown vest underneath, which she also wears in the summertime. She is normally seen wearing a yellow armband when engaged in club activities and has several pens clipped to the left breast pocket. As Cure Mercury, her hair turns brownish-red and lengthens to her bust, with a black diadem on top. She wears a Greco-Roman inspired outfit consisting of black breastplate with a wing-shaped emblem on top, a dark red tunic with a black skirt underneath, her knees and elbows are protected by carnelian inlaid pads and she wears red high-heel sandal-boots. The Zodiac Sundial manifests as a belt buckle along her waist. Personality Hatoko's idea of making friends amounts to letting people walk all over her in the hopes that they will be happy enough to allow her into their circle. She seems to have a problem thinking for herself and needs validation. However, she makes sure every single article in the school paper is well organized, completely honest, thorough, and precise. She is drawn to confident, self-assured people such as Emily and the student council president. She is also a neat freak who becomes dismayed over even the thinnest layer of dust or when objects are out of their proper place. Her favorite subjects are English, Japanese and World History; her least favorite is Physical Education. Overall, she is surprisingly competent in many fields despite her unassuming demeanor. In addition to journalism, she also dabbles in interior decorating, fashion, and flower arrangement, among others, and despite not having much athleticism in recent years, she was once a top-performing ballerina as a child, which she subconsciously incorporates into her fighting style as Cure Mercury. Hatoko is very health conscious in her eating habits, having a weird diet usually consisting of durians, fermented bean paste, canned fruit, and yokan. She does not like red meat. History Childhood Becoming Cure Mercury Relationships Tamashiro Emiri - Hatoko was the only person to put up with Emily's attitude when she moved back to Japan upon entering middle school. Hatoko often ghostwrites Emily's classic literature homework and generally does all sorts of odd jobs for her. When Hatoko finally shows back-bone, she tells Emily that she had no intention of being bossed around anymore, which brings out Emily's deepest insecurities. They do make up afterwards, with Hatoko taking a more hands-off approach to assisting Emily and Emily giving Hatoko a makeover. Hirai Yumi - After becoming Cure Mercury, Hatoko ends up spending time with her junior, whether they eat lunch together or occasionally visit the local arcade. She struggled to bear with Yumi's headstrong attitude, often when the younger girl expresses annoyance with her submissiveness. Yumi nonetheless alleviates most of her anxieties. [[Angelia|'Angelia']]' '- Her fairy partner is very loyal and takes to being a servant for her, such as cooking meals, laying out clothes and even offering to scrub her back when bathing. Minowa Haruka - Like many other girls, she has a crush on him. Of course, she knows she has no chance of winning his heart. The most interaction she has with him is when she has asks him to approve her weekly articles. [[Terada Mimori|'Terada Mimori']]' '- Despite competing for his affection, they propose a truce in order to soften him up. Hatoko cannot stand her senior's casual flirting because she thinks that Mimori will ruin any chance of confessing to him. [[Kaburagi Chidori|'Kaburagi Chidori']] - As the owner of a public laundromat, her mother has a habit of gossiping with other housewives, something that often embarrasses her. Chidori is actually quite astute, which helps Hatoko in gathering information. [[Magdelene|'Madeleine']]' '- Hatoko's pet kitten, which Yumi and Haruka are allergic to. Cure Mercury "Guided by Hermes, the star of perfection! Cure Mercury!" ヘルメスに導かれ、完成の星！キュアマーキュリー Cure Mercury (キュアマーキュリー Kyua Mākyurī) is Hatoko's Pretty Cure alter ego, powered by the Carnelian Horoscorb. In this form, like other Pretty Cures, she possesses powered-up strength, speed. and healing factor, but is primarily a support fighter. She can erect barriers that can hold for indefinite periods of time, giving her or her fellow Cures a chance to counterattack. She has the most prowess in aerial combat, relying exclusively on kicks. She does not need to be together with her partner Yumi to transform. Cure Mercury represents the star sign of Virgo, and her element is earth. Her primary finishing attack is Carnelian Croissance and she is also able to preform Olympic Ausbruch with Cure Jupiter. Etymology Kaburagi ''(鏑木) consists of the kanji ''kabura ''(鏑) which means "bulb", specifically it aludes to the ''kabura-ya, a bulbed arrow used during the Heian period of Japan which was used for signaling the start of battle. Ki ''(木) means "tree" or "wood" which may reference her Cure form's power over nature. ''Hatoko ''(鳩子) means "dove child"; which could allude to the winged messenger Mercury. The kanji (鳩) is read as pigeon or dove, which were used to send messages across great distances in the past. It can also refer to release doves. ''Masukomi-ko ''(マスコミコ) is a play on the word "mass communication", with Hatoko taking the last syllable from her name to complete the alias. ''Seraphina ''(セラフィーナ) relates to seraphs or angels in general, which are known to be messengers, corresponding to Hatoko's awakening as a Pretty Cure. ''Cure Mercury: Named for the homonymous planet, which is named for the Roman god of communication and counterpart the Greek god Hermes.Category:Olympus Pretty Cure Category:Cures